Change
by Just hand me a pen
Summary: Marriage proposal. I know that this has been done many, many times, but I'd like to think I did this one differently. As always, I'm terrible at rating, so I rate for safety. Read and review!


**A/N:**

**Future/AU… So, Kate and Rick have been dating for about 2 years. I know that tons of other stories have them getting married after just a few months, but I just think that they probably (realistically) would take longer to make that big a decision (I mean, they've known each other for more than 3 years, and they're STILL not together). Anyways, I'm basically writing this because I want to do a Beckett monologue. I think it's going to be pretty short.**

**I don't own Castle. I always forget to put disclaimers... for once, I remembered. **

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><p>They'd been walking for about an hour. It was mid September, and the leaves were just starting to fall. It was one of those rare occasions where Kate actually had time off, and Rick had decided to make the most of it.<p>

They'd been together for about 2 years. Actually, the anniversary of them becoming a couple, a _real _couple, together was later that month.

"Remember when we told everyone we were together?" Rick asked as he pulled Kate down to sit on the park bench. Kate smiled, not wanting to assault her airway with the freezing air by speaking. That was the end of that line of conversation. She leaned into Rick, resting her head on his shoulder. She looked up at his face, briefly, only to focus back on the pond they were sitting in front of.

It was Rick's turn to smile. Smile at the woman leaning against him, how lucky he was to have her. Smile at how serene she was that day. They'd been fighting quite a bit the last few weeks. Not about anything in particular, just little details. Not doing the dishes, the laundry… All the little fights were instead of the big decision they had to come to. Where was their relationship headed? They'd been together for years, were they going to get married? Kate already lived with Rick, she'd moved in about a year before.

It's not that Kate didn't want to marry Rick, it was just such a huge decision. Not that they'd even talked about it, it was just the subtext of their fights. Unspoken, yet _extremely_ evident.

As Rick sat on the bench in the park, he made a spur of the moment decision.

"Marry me."

Kate quickly shot up, her posture now completely stiff and her face stiff.

Rick winced, internally. "I don't- Wow. That was… that was spur of the moment. Unplanned. I don't even have a ring." He let out a sound that was a sigh mixed with laughter. He looked over at Kate, who was still sitting there stiff, emotionless. "We don't have to, you know? I won't be mad if you say no. Some couples just don't care if they're married or not." Rick knew he was rambling, but was unable to stop. "Of course, I'll be disappointed, but it's your decision. It's just that a ring, it's symbolic. I know that you're mine, you're not going anywhere, but with a ring, you'll be mine forever. It's silly, I should just stop talking…" Ricks voice faded away into the distance, but Kate was barely listening.

"Rick," the word caught in Kate's throat. "Of course I will. Don't think for a second that I hesitated because of you. It's just me, and my lack of ability to deal with change. You know that. People say that change is good. I guess they're right. It's just that after my mom died… well that was one hell of a change. Whenever someone said that, I couldn't even _begin_ to comprehend how they could say that. I would think _You don't know me, how could you even think that this is good?_ Obviously, I didn't get that they didn't know. I was getting mad at random people I would meet on the subway. I would be so naïve. I'm just afraid of change, not you and me, not us. In fact, saying I'm _afraid_ of change isn't really true. I don't know how I feel about it; it's hard to explain. I just need to get used to it. But I'd love to get used to it with you, Rick. Of course I'll marry you. I _love_ you."

She finished her last couple sentences with an intonation that seemed to say _Isn't it obvious?_

She turned to look up at Rick, who was close to having to fight tears. He couldn't speak. What do you say to that? He simply nodded.

Seconds passed in silence, and then minutes. Finally, after five minutes had passed, he stood up, saying, "That was one hell of a speech, just to say yes. Living with a writer certainly has its benefits."

Kate stood. "I'm sure being married to one will, too," she said.

Rick smiled, for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "We're getting married," he said. Kate leaned in to hug him.

"Rick?" she asked. He nodded, and she could feel his chin against the top of her head. "Thank you for not making a big scene."

Not being able to find a response to that, Rick just nodded again. Kate snuggled in closer to him, and they just were.

Considering that there had just been a marriage proposal, the moment was surprisingly unromantic. That was bound to change later, but for the moment they weren't Kate and Rick, lovers, fiancés, living together. They were just Kate and Rick, best friends.

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><p><strong>So... like it? It ended up VERY differently than I had expected, but I actually like it. It's short, but <em>sincere<em>? I don't know...  
>ANYWAYS... Please review? I'm still just happy I remembered to put a disclamer. That's pretty sad.<br>****And... to bed. I'm tired. **


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